Voting Advice Applications: Methodological Innovations, Behavioural Effects, and Research Perspectives

Voting advice applications (VAAs) are widely used digital tools that match voters’ policy preferences with party or candidate positions. Since their emergence in the 1980s and rapid expansion alongside internet dissemination, VAAs have spread to more than 80 countries and generated growing academic interest. This thematic issue advances the field by analysing behavioural effects, user diversity, design innovations, including AI-driven conversational agents, and the validity of VAA-generated data. Together, the contributions demonstrate both the maturation of VAA research and its continued relevance for understanding democratic representation.